Yep and I’ll leave it at that.
Yes, we reserve those terms for the politics forum! 
Always a great question.
Should a classical music reviewer be forced to rate a jazz release?
I can appreciate a critic who, instead of continually down rating a Wine that he or she just doesn’t understand deciding to simply not engage with that wine any longer.
I think I see your point in that a critic might be expected to at least be able to somewhat dispassionately discuss a wine’s merits/flaws…so I land in the worthless middle on the issue!
I hate threads like this. It’s the reason we have so few producers participating here.
The ITB folks can take their spots. 
I do not understand.
Since I have subscribed to both for a long time, I would have to say that this comment is absurd.
Alan is a fellow silicon valley elite, so he doesn’t like it when the 1%s get criticized ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
Tanzer, for example, in his Burgundy reviews, visits what he considers to be the best domaines…representing what I am guessing to be the top 10% (or 10-20% or whatever the % is) of Burgundy producers. By your reasoning, he and all wine writers should visit the bad ones as well, and drink a lot of dreck so that they can give a good deal of low scores.
Once again, either you are trying to be amusing or are unintentionally so.
People get emotionally invested in wineries they have visited or where they have friends. It is natural. It clouds judgment and leads them to say things that, on sober reflection, they might not say.
There is no reason that producers should feel ‘threatened’ here whatsoever, and it is a bummer that so few take part here - as opposed to the number that used to take part back in the heyday of the Ebob days.
Then again, I think either the definition of or the application of the word ‘civility’ has changed drastically in the day and age of social media and the internet.
As far as whether you like or dislike a wine, it really should just be a personal decision based on your own palate - not based on reviewers or group think or whatever else you might say. And of course, as palates and preferences change, you may find that something you dug ‘yesterday’ does not work ‘today’.
This board, reviewers, and places like CT are great for finding out about new producers - or even helping to ‘align’ ones palate with others, and that’s not a bad thing at all.
If producers do want to ‘play’ here, though, they should realize that this is not a place to ‘shill’ - or at least it shouldn’t be. There’s so much information to share about the winemaking process, about different regions, about wines tried - and it’s a blast trying to be an active member and taking part. But if producers just want to jump on here, take part in Berserkerday to get some sales, then move on . . . well, to me, that’s not taking part and being a part of a ‘community’ - and that’s how I see WB.
And Kevin is an example of someone who ‘gets this’ . . .
Cheers.
But then isn’t he ‘self selecting’ what he considers ‘best’? And how would a new producer, or someone who has ‘stepped up their game’, be able to ‘get in’?
If a reviewer hits a region and does not cover it ‘comprehensively’, they are ‘self selecting’ and, by definition, subjectively being ‘exclusive’ in their coverage, and not inclusive . . .
Cheers.
One of the individuals that I wished posted more is Nate but I don’t see anyone saying that there shouldn’t be any disparaging comments about Silver Oak.
Rhys is the only list I’m on, and I generally agree with this statement. I have been mildly concerned with the way some of the older vintages have aged (in that they haven’t acquired the complexity I would have hoped for - though there is time), but I also agree with some people that the wines have gotten better, so I’m happy to keep purchasing.
Of course, this is wine, and tastes are subjective - I don’t begrudge anyone for not liking Rhys in the same way that I would hope no one would begrudge me the fact that for some reason I really don’t like Rossignol’s Volnays (even though I love Volnay).
Somewhere in the 25 years I’ve been in this hobby, I have stopped trying to align my tastes with anyone else. It changed how I read reviews from others. It also freed me from worrying about why I was or was not enjoying what is in my glass at a given moment in time. I don’t think that I have as discerning a palate or as deep an appreciation (or hatred) of certain wines/styles as a result. It is a compromise that comes with the perspective and I accept that.
We don’t all have to agree or get along.
To the topic question, I have been following Rhys from the start. Loved the story and the vision. Still enjoy the wines for the most part. Drink them more regularly now than in the early days since I have a good quantity in cellar. Flinch at price increases and super-special (Hillsides) bottlings. Say humbug and wax to anyone who will listen about when I could get La Tache for that price and you could try it before deciding to go back for more.
I am not sure I’ll hold things as long as Gilman suggests for “peak drinking” but I haven’t yet had anything I thought was completely over the hill - closest was the '09 Alpine Chardonnay which did mature pretty quickly and I went into drink-fast mode over the last couple of years to finish it up.
I did chase after a few of the cult-ish wines pre-Berserker days. Jones, QC, SQN, Rochioli, Kistler, Peter Michael, and Flowers come to mind. Enjoyed some of the wines. Didn’t get others. Still holding some vestiges of the purchases and check in on them from time to time. I am happy to open them for those who are enthusiastic about them (more so than I am). I sent some to auction when I had made conclusions about ever enjoying some I had over-accumulated. I don’t blame the board for getting me spun up on something I didn’t like. I had to see for myself.
Cheers,
fred
I honestly would like to hear someone say a wine is complete dreck than to selectively rate only the best, as I think this does nothing but give producers an incentive to raise prices, rather analogous to boards of companies comparison pricing other corporations to determine CEO salaries and inflating them in the process.
I can’t say I’ve seen pinot noir/Burgundy ratings less than 88. Perhaps producers make much better wines than they did in the 1970’s and 80’s? Maybe. But I think it cheapens the score.
Gilman used to do his “roadkill” reviews. He called many famous wines worse than dreck.
does anyone remember the one “e-bob board darling” he gave a 50 to? Was it Marcassin?
Could have been. He hated the stuff. He also took Ridge Monte Bello to the woodshed, so his ire was not Bob-based.
Sounds about right